1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rectifier circuit, and in particular relates to a rectifier circuit using a transistor and a semiconductor device using the rectifier circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
A contactless power feeding technique by which power is contactlessly supplied to a power supply circuit of an electronic device is known. In comparison with a conventional power feeding technique using a contact, the contactless power feeding technique is convenient because the positional relation between the electronic device and a power feeding device is not severely limited during power feeding. Specifically, a method for transmitting power from a contactless power feeding device with a radio wave, magnetic force, or the like by utilizing electromagnetic induction, a radio wave, or resonance of an electric field or a magnetic field is known.
Neither a primary battery nor replacement of a primary battery is necessary for an electronic device which is operated only by power fed according to the contactless power feeding technique; therefore, the electronic device is convenient. In addition, the electronic device in which not only the primary battery but also a secondary battery or the like are not used is referred to as a passive electronic device, realizing reduction in weight, size, and manufacturing cost. An example of such an electronic device is a passive radio frequency identification (RFID) tag.
Note that the amount of power fed by the contactless power feeding technique varies depending on the distance between a contactless power feeding device and an electronic device supplied with power. In the case of a short distance between the contactless power feeding device and the electronic device, a large amount of power can be supplied to the electronic device, whereas in the case of a long distance between the devices, even power with which the electronic device can operate cannot be supplied.
A device in which an electronic device is provided with a voltage doubler rectifier circuit and a device in which a MOS field effect transistor is applied to a rectifier element of a voltage doubler rectifier circuit are devised so that the electronic device can operate even the power supplied from the contactless power feeding device is small (Patent Document 1).